David Morgan (November 8, 1849 – May 11, 1912) was an American judge who served as a justice of the

Supreme Court of North Dakota The North Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court of law in the state of North Dakota. The Court rules on questions of law in appeals from the state's district courts. Each of the five justices are elected on a no-party ballot for ten year te ...

from 1901 to 1911.

Early life and education

Morgan was born on November 8, 1849, in

Coalport Coalport is a village in Shropshire, England. It is located on the River Severn in the Ironbridge Gorge, a mile downstream of Ironbridge. It lies predominantly on the north bank of the river; on the other side is Jackfield. The settlement was ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. At a young age, he moved to the state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

with his parents. He attended

common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary o ...

s there, being educated at Spring Green Academy and Plattville State Normal School. He also took a year-long special course at Wisconsin State University.

Career

After leaving Wisconsin State University, Morgan taught school in Ironton, Wisconsin. He served later as a principal of a school in Chilton. Morgan was elected to serve as the

Sauk County Sauk County is a county in Wisconsin. It is named after a large village of the Sauk people. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,763. Its county seat and largest city is Baraboo. The county was created in 1840 from Wisconsin Territory a ...

clerk of court. During his terms in this position, he

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

with a number of judges. He was then admitted to practice law in 1879. In 1881, Morgan resigned as clerk of court, moving to practice law in the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

. In 1883, he moved to Devil's Lake, where he served for four years as the

state's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

or Ramsey County. He, thereafter, served for eleven years as a judge of the District Courts of North Dakota. After his eleven years on the state's district courts, Morgan was elected in 1900 to the

North Dakota Supreme Court The North Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court of law in the state of North Dakota. The Court rules on questions of law in appeals from the state's district courts. Each of the five justices are elected on a no-party ballot for ten year te ...

. He entered the bench at the age of 51, and served for roughly ten years and eight months before resigning on August 31, 1911, due to poor health. After he retired, he moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

where he died on May 11, 1912, at the age of 61.

References

External links

North Dakota Supreme Court biography
Justices of the North Dakota Supreme Court North Dakota state court judges 1849 births 1912 deaths 19th-century American judges People from Middleport, Ohio University of Wisconsin alumni American school principals Educators from Wisconsin Wisconsin lawyers People from Sauk County, Wisconsin District attorneys in North Dakota {{NorthDakota-state-judge-stub